Adelaide 36ers vs. Perth Wildcats
When: 7:00pm (AEDT), Friday 15th November
Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Broadcast: NBL TV, SBS On Demand/Viceland, Twitch TV
Last times they’ve met:
Rd 24 2019/2020: Perth Wildcats 93 (Cotton 29, White 20) defeated Adelaide 36ers 85 (D Johnson 23) at Perth Arena (The Jungle)
In Adelaide- 17 Jan 2019: Adelaide 36ers 97 (Conger 18, D Johnson 17) lost to Perth Wildcats 84 (White 24) at Titanium Security Arena (The Fortress)
SIXERS SHOT BACK INTO HISTORY
Game 1 Grand Final Series 2014/2015: Brendan who?
Not only was game one a classic NBL Grand Final match but it also completed the rise of Brendan Teys from 10th man to Joey Wright’s equivalent of the Wildcats number one percent man Damian Martin. Whilst Teys’s story is not quite the gradual rise of the Damian Martin career there are certainly similarities. Martin started at college as a relative no name in Australian basketball suiting up for many team’s benches including the West Sydney Razorbacks and the Sydney Spirit before eventually landing his spot at the Wildcats in 2009/10. Martin then went on to forge his reputation of “Mr One Percenter” in the Wildcats finals campaigns throughout the 2010-2014 finals campaigns.
Teys as Wright described has always been a hard worker and it showed in his commitment. “He had a lot of reason to quit, he lived in Brisbane he used to drive down to the Gold Coast to train with us which was a huge drive each way, he’s worked hard and knows exactly what we want out there on the court and he’s now one of the leaders on this team.” In this classic match, Joey threw Teys into the starting line-up when many thought Jason Cadee or Mitch Creek would start the match, Joey knew he could rely on Teys in such a crucial situation. Teys contributed with a career high 14pts in a game that had it all, physicality, big shots and big plays.
Make sure you go back through the NBL TV archives and watch this one…
Key Match-Ups:
Ramone Moore vs. Terrico White
Terrico has been white hot against the Sixers in recent matches and along with consistent form one of the most dangerous road side duos in the NBL. White scored 20 and 24 points against Adelaide on the road last season and thats the kind of offensive performance that can put the Sixers to the sword. The absence of Moore’s contribution from Adelaide’s loss to United last Sunday puts into perspective how crucial his contribution is both defensively and offensively to the Sixers stopping White from putting on a shooting clinic in the Ken Cole-sseum.
Eric Griffin vs Dario Hunt
Both imports have had some time to adjust to the “NBL” style of officiating and will both play crucial roles in how long they can stay on the floor out of foul trouble as the rebound count is generally an indicator as to how many of the guards get multiple field goal attempts particularly between these two sides. The Wildcats rely heavily on a half court game and dominating the offensive glass to create multiple opportunities for White and Cotton, Hunt has averaged 6 rebounds per game including 2.6 offensive boards which the Sixers will need to stop. On the other side, Griffin has averaged 5 rebounds per game but the longer he’s on the floor, the better the Sixers defence and rim protection is out there with Griffin holding an average of 2.1 rejections per match.
Obi Kyei vs. Majok Majok
If foul trouble is to play a part for the big import post men, the back-up post players and defenders may have a significant say in this one and this is where the Sixers can get an advantage. Kyei is going to have up and down games in his first season but similar to Majok Deng against the Wildcats the last couple of seasons, the athletic big-man is a match-up the Wildcats don’t have an easy answer for. Their best direct match-up is a reinvented Majok Majok but even he’s fairly “straight up and down” as a defender so open court and Obi Kyei will be what the Sixers will be looking for.
The Last Play
It’s really hard to place the Sixers where they are in the title race at this point of the season. Having played less games and taken care of home bar one thrilling loss to the Kings, this Friday is a test of how solid the Sixers are and whether they can take care of their home court. The key to this season is keeping the squad healthy, together, bench depth as when injuries or form hit other teams to make sure they at least take care of their home court as a first priority. I sensed we’d have a flat patch against United last Sunday but getting the Wildcats on the back of a double away road trip right now, we simply can’t afford to drop these games. I do not for one minute underestimate the power or ability of the Wildcats anymore after making that mistake numerous times, I have come to the conclusion there is never an easy game against the Wildcats. If the Sixers take that mentality into this game, they’ll come away with a solid win but if they look at that bench with not much depth and think we stop a couple of guys, those guys will play bigger roles in the Sixers downfall than the Wildcats supporting cast in High School Musical.
The Sixers have to be all in this together…
36ers by 9pts
*This article is a duplicate of an article written for publishing for And The Foul.net and may appear before or after publishing
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 